Yet another firm is teetering on the brink of default for a relatively large bond, joining a small but growing list of such companies as Chinese investors learn about the risk of buying debt from shaky companies in struggling industries. This time it’s a little-know construction company called Huatong Road & Bridge Group that’s warning it could soon default on interest and principal payments for 400 million yuan ($65 million) in bonds set to mature later this month. The announcement is the latest of a slow but steady trickle of similar news that hints at distress due to China’s slowing economy. Read Full Post…
China sent an important message to the struggling solar panel sector last week when one of the country’s major manufacturers was forced to turn to global capital markets to raise new funds, hinting that it couldn’t receive the money from state-backed domestic sources. The move sparked a sell-off for New York-listed shares of Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), as its request for funds met with a frosty response on Wall Street. Read Full Post…
One of China’s 2 major meltdowns in the solar panel sector has taken a big step forward with word that trading in shares of LDK (NYSE: LDK) has been suspended and the de-listing process formally begun as the company liquidates. Meantime, word of a missed interest payment by a building materials maker is sending the latest signal that China will let more companies in ailing sectors default on their debt rather than pay off their creditors. That’s an important signal for the solar sector, which relies heavily on such debt to finance its operations and where many smaller players are in danger of similar defaults. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on April 2. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Building Materials Maker Xuzhou Zhongsen Missed Bond Payment: Report (English article)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Talks to Acquire Group Buy Site 55Tuan – Source (English article)
Inventory At 46 Car Makers Climbs 14 Pct To 86 Bln Yuan (Chinese article)
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), Joint Provisional Liquidators Provide Update (PRNewswire)
Shanda Sells 41 Pct Of Ku6 Media (Nasdaq: KUTV) To Xu Xudong (English article)
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on March 29-31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Citic Group Plans HK Listing By Reversing Into Citic Pacific (HKEx: 267) (English article)
Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Defeats US Lawsuit Over Censored Search Results (English article)
Alibaba Listing Underwriters To Get 1 Pct Fee, New Low For Internet IPO (English article)
LDK (NYSE: LDK) Confirms Offshore Restructuring and Interim Financing (PRNewswire)
Camelot Information Systems (NYSE: CIS) Announces Completion of Merger (PRNewswire)
New signals from Beijing hint at a problem I’ve talked about for the last 2 months as China embarks on a major solar energy program, namely that many new plants being built could become useless white elephants. Potential for such a problem is very real, and could end up not only costing enthusiastic builders of new power plants billions of dollars in wasted funds, but could also leave solar panel makers themselves with huge amounts of unpaid bills. Meantime, the latest signals from Suntech (NYSE: STPFQ) and LDK (NYSE: LDK) indicate these 2 former giants are nearing the end of their lives, as each looks set to disappear in an ongoing industry consolidation. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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China Mobile To Sell iPhone Next Week, Unicom, China Telecom Cut Prices (Chinese article)
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) CEO Says Still In Dark On China Antitrust Probe (English article)
Zhou Weiping Resigns As Interim CEO, CFO Of Suntech (NYSE: STPFQ) (PRNewswire)
Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Denies In Talks To Sell Stake To Alibaba (Chinese article)
LDK (NYSE: LDK) Enters Further Forbearance Arrangement With Noteholders (PRNewswire)
The year 2013 will go down as a major turning point for China’s solar panel makers, with some names emerging as new sector leaders after a prolonged downturn while others quietly disappeared. The latter category saw former leader Suntech (OTC: STPFQ) go bankrupt and LDK (NYSE: LDK) quietly sell off many of its assets, while the former category has seen Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) and Shunfeng (HKEx: 1165) emerge as names to watch in the future. Canadian Solar in particular has been coming back strong in the second half of this year with a steady stream of good news, including its latest mega-deal to sell panels in China. Read Full Post…
I thought I’d get into the Christmas spirit in this first work day after Thanksgiving in the US, so let’s take a look at what solar panel makers LDK (NYSE: LDK) and Trina (NYSE: TSL) are getting in their holiday stockings with the latest company news reports. It seems the struggling LDK won’t be getting much, with word that a Chinese court has added further delays to a case where it is owed $40 million in a business dispute with rival Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ). The news looks a bit better for Trina, whose Christmas stocking is filled with another smaller solar company that it is acquiring as the industry consolidates. Read Full Post…
I haven’t written about LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) for a while, so it seems like the release of its latest quarterly results might be a good chance for a final look before the lights go off permanently at this struggling solar panel maker. Somewhat appropriately, LDK announced its results on the same day it also said it continues to negotiate with international investors who are still waiting for an overdue payment on their bonds. (company announcement) The bondholders have just agreed to extend their talks for another 2 weeks, but there’s always the very real danger that they could force LDK into bankruptcy when this new deadline expires on December 10. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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US Expands China Hiring Probe To Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) (English article)
Huawei Founder Ren Zhengfei Vows Counteroffensive Against US (Chinese article)
PetroChina (HKEx: 857) Receives US Court Notice On Probe Into Executives (English article)
LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) Reports Financial Q3 Results (PRNewswire)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Picks Guangming Daily As New China Partner (Chinese article)
